T. Mark Montoya, PhD

Interests

• U.S.-Mexico Borderlands
• Citizenship
• Borderlands Pedagogy
• Chicanx/Latinx Studies
• First Generation Student Experiences
• Hip Hop

Biography

T. Mark Montoya, PhD is an Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Northern Arizona University (NAU). A first-generation college student, Dr. Montoya attended New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces, where he received a B.A. in History in 1997 and a M.A. in Government in 2000. He moved to Flagstaff, Arizona to pursue a Ph.D. in Political Science at NAU, which was completed, with Distinction, in 2009. His dissertation, “Borderdom”: Citizenship in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, examined the politics of belonging and informs much of his current research and teaching foci. Dr. Montoya’s scholarship centers broadly on the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, borderlands pedagogy, citizenship, Ethnic Studies, hip hop, and first-generation college student experiences. In addition to numerous committees and service, Dr. Montoya is most involved with NAU’s First-generation Programs, New Student Orientation as the faculty keynote speaker, the NAU Commission for Ethnic Diversity as a member and past co-chair, current chair of the Northern Arizona Dream Fund, and the First Generation Southwest Symposium as a co-organizer. He is also the co-organizer of NAU’s Hip-Hop Week. He has, furthermore, served on the Association for Borderlands Studies board of directors from 2013-2016. Dr. Montoya continues to serve on many M.A. and Ph.D. student committees, is the faculty advisor to two NAU student organizations, and is a faculty mentor to a NAU Interns-to-Scholars student. In 2015, Dr. Montoya was named the NAU College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Teacher of the Year and he serves as an Affiliate with NAU’s Teaching Academy. He was also awarded the NAU Outstanding Advocate Award for First-Generation College Students in 2013, and the NAU President’s Award for Ethnic Diversity in 2012. Dr. Montoya has also been recognized by several students as a faculty of influence. In May 2016 he was honored to serve as the NAU Commencement Speaker for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences/University College graduation.

Recent publications

Montoya, T. Mark. 2020. “Unlearning Racism: The Classroom as a Space for Social Transformation through Borderlands Pedagogy.” Contemporary Justice Review, 23(2), 1-10. DOI: 10.1080/10282580.2020.1755844.

Luna, Yvonne M. and T. Mark Montoya. 2019. “‘I Need This Chance to…Help My Family’: A Qualitative Analysis of the Aspirations of DACA Applicants.” Social Sciences, 8(9), 265. DOI: 10.3390/socsci8090265.

Gooding, Jr., Frederick W. and T. Mark Montoya. 2019. “It Takes a Nation of Millions: How to Freestyle a Hip Hop Curriculum.” In Critical Intersections in Contemporary Curriculum & Pedagogy, ed L. Jewett, F. Calderon-Berumen and M. Espinosa-Dulanto, 161-174. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.

Montoya, T. Mark. 2016. “Bad Fences Make Bad Neighbors: Challenging the Citizenship Regime in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands.” Eurasia Border Review, 7(1): 71-85.

Montoya, T. Mark. 2016. “But It’s a Dry Hate: Illegal-Americans, Other-Americans, and the Citizenship Regime.” In White Washing American Education: The New Culture Wars in Ethnic Studies, Volume 2: Higher Education, ed D.M. Sandoval, A.J. Ratcliff, T.L. Buenavista, and J.R. Marin, 19-40. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Publishers.

Montoya, T. Mark. 2016. “Rage, Courage, Encourage: Citizenship in the College Classroom.” In Going Inward: The Role of Cultural Introspection in College Teaching, ed S.D. Longerbeam and A.F. Chávez, 162-169. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

Montoya, T. Mark. 2013. “Emergent Indigenous Identities at the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands.”  In The Politics of Identity: Emerging Indigeneity, ed M. Harris, M. Nakata, and B. Carlson, 78-108. Sydney, AU: University of Technology Sydney Press/Sydney University Press.